City have revenge firmly in mind

LET the posturing commence.

For the first time since 1926 at Bramall Lane, Manchester City will face United in an FA Cup semi-final after Micah Richards’ goal was enough to overcome stubborn Championship opponents Reading.

For those looking for some hints from that day in Sheffield, City won 3-0 but went on to lose the final 1-0 to Bolton, who, of course, face Stoke in the other semi.

You may get sick of hearing about it between now and April 17, ironically considering the London Marathon will be run on the same day, City are slowly catching United and this could be the perfect way to sum up their progress.

When City lost 2-1 to United at Old Trafford last month, manager Roberto Mancini pinched his fingers together to show how close he believes the clubs are now.

The Italian must appreciate that even if City do finish in the top four, this one game at Wembley could come to define his reign at Eastlands.

Victory, and he will be unsackable, with City overwhelming favourites for the final, while defeat, with City already facing an uphill task, trailing 2-0 from the first leg in their last 16 tie with Dynamo Kiev, could see him struggle to get beyond the summer.

“I think that for us it’s important to improve,” Mancini said. “We have improved a lot in the last year. We are a good team and when we lose games we’ve played as a team.

“You can only improve if when you lose you understand what mistakes you have made. Manchester City is now very close to this club (United).”

A product of City’s academy, Richards, who also confirmed that he rowed with Mancini after the defeat in Kiev, was less subtle in his observations about the semi-final, admitting he is desperate for revenge following Wayne Rooney’s wonder goal in last month’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

“Yeah, definitely after Rooney’s overhead kick,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Whether a one-off match will suit City remains to be seen. The fact that they have required replays to find a way past Leicester and Notts County in this season’s competition suggests a lack of cutting edge that explains why they have not mounted a genuine title challenge this season.

They do not lose often but they still draw too many games. At times, the anxiety knowledge generates can be crippling, as it was in the second half at Eastlands yesterday.

Even before half time, they were trying stupid shots from distance that hinted at their collective mental state.

With Carlos Tevez playing on his own in attack again, and Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli on the bench, City found it hard to find a way into the Reading box.

Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was outstanding but City struggled to carve out real opportunities against the team from the second tier.

Their best opening of the first half came, typically, from fine work from David Silva, who slid through for Shaun Wright-Phillips. McCarthy blocked the winger’s shot and then somehow got a hand to Silva’s follow up.

Having knocked Everton out in the previous round, Reading were not short on confidence and Jobi McAnuff and Jimmy Kebe caused City problems in wide areas without ever really threatening to score, Ireland’s Noel Hunt heading over with their best first-half chance.

McCarthy got his hand to a Richards’ downward header from an Aleksander Kolarov corner, turning it over the bar.

But with just over a quarter of an hour left, Richards hurled himself at another corner from the Serb and this time McCarthy could do nothing.

Still there were chances for Reading, with a Brian Howard corner sparking chaos but City held on and the relief at the final whistle was noticeable. “I thought we were going to get a draw and it’s cruel to be beaten on a set play,” said Reading boss Brian McDermott. “If Tevez had beaten five or Silva had come up with a piece of magic you could have accepted it, but it was difficult to take.”